FX.co ★ Hang Seng Steadies, Weekly Gains Extend to Third Week

The Hang Seng Index remained unchanged at 26,545 on Friday. Gains in technology and consumer sectors counterbalanced declines in financial and property stocks. The index, which initially rose, pulled back in anticipation of discussions between China's Xi Jinping and U.S. President Trump scheduled for today. Investors also assessed the news that developer DeepSeek's new model was trained at significantly lower costs compared to its U.S. counterparts. Meanwhile, mainland Chinese stocks fell from a ten-year high after the People's Bank of China indicated it was not in a hurry to relax monetary policies despite weak output numbers for August. In the United States, stock futures exhibited a muted response following Thursday's Federal Reserve-induced rally, which fueled expectations of an easing monetary policy cycle. For the week, the Hang Seng recorded a third consecutive increase, rising by 0.6%, buoyed by advancements in China's technology sector, particularly in AI and semiconductor industries. On the corporate front, Zijin Gold aims to generate over USD 3.2 billion in Hong Kong's largest IPO since May. Leading the gainers were Sands China with a 5.2% increase, China Hongqiao up by 5.1%, and Techtronic rising 2.9%. Conversely, Innovent Biologics and Horizon Robotics led the decliners, with drops of 5.8% and 4.3%, respectively.